Feng shui with Clear Englebert

Feng shui master and author Clear Englebert explains feng shui principles and their applications in a three-part special program series starting June 24. The Main, Madison, and Bailey Cove libraries will each host a different program.

Clear will be happy to sign books after his talk. Books are available through pre-order at Barnes & Noble Bridge Street.

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information, call 256-327-8700.

Feng shui master Clear Englebert explains the different kinds of feng shui, the basic dynamics of chi energy flow, and how to apply the principles in your home. He’ll show how to maximize chi’s beneficial flow and retain it to circulate within. Emphasis is placed on areas where a person spends the most time, such as the bed, desk, or lounge chair. Clear discusses the importance of doors and windows, as well as the effect of clutter and how to eliminate it. Common interior features such as open beams, ceiling fans, and sharp right corners can affect the energy in a room. Clear covers furniture selection and placement, as well as handling tight, crowded situations. Other topics include inviting harmony, prosperity, and health with this ancient Chinese system of placement. He’ll put feng shui principles in everyday language, so that anyone can understand, and he’ll explain the solutions to each problem. Clear offers feng shui changes that can be done within any decorating style.

According to feng shui, your garden is your first and best opportunity to create positive energy for your home. Feng shui master and author Clear Englebert explains the three main uses of feng shui in the garden: Inviting good energy to the property, nurturing that energy, and protecting the home from harsh energy.

The very first thing a garden can do for a home and those who dwell there is to invite good energy onto the property and then to the front door. Englebert explains the concept of chi energy and how to be sure that the energy that finds you is actually good energy. The color red is extremely important in feng shui and he explains where to put that color and why.

The most ancient feng shui principle is to locate the dwelling in a very balanced environment. This nurtures good energy by harmonizing the home with the surrounding landform. Where the natural landscape does not provide this balance, plants can substitute for the correct landform, and give the home a “tucked in” feeling.

Protecting the home from harsh influences is a basic feng shui goal. Englebert tells why some energy from neighboring structures is considered negative and how to deflect it. When a problem occurs outside a home there are three kinds of solutions to choose from: blocking the problem so it’s hidden, reflecting the problem away, or dispersing it. There can be a wide variety of problems coming from such things as the road and neighboring buildings.

This lecture could also be called “Feng Shui for Love and Money.” Feng shui master and author Clear Englebert introduces the Five Elements (which are also used in acupuncture) and their application to homes and furnishings. He’ll explain yin/yang symbol and show its evolution into the bagua map, which is a grid that lies over the floor plan. Each area of the bagua grid corresponds to an aspect of life. The orientation of the grid is based on the door, which is called the Mouth of Chi. Clear shows how to remedy the problems created by uniquely-shaped houses. These problems are called such things as Missing Areas or Meat-Cleaver Homes. They are most severe when they affect the two power corners, Wealth and Relationship. Clear discusses these two rear corners in depth, as well as the power of color. He explains water features, plants, and clutter reduction, as well as eliminating conflicting energy from the home, and how single people can attract relationships. The other bagua areas are Wisdom, Reputation, Career, Helpful People, Creativity and Children. The word” ba” means “eight”; the word “gua” means “area.” “Bagua” literally means “eight areas around the room.”

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About Clear Englebert

Clear Englebert is an Alabama native. In 1971, at age 19, he opened his first Huntsville bookstore, A Good Book Store, in Five Points. In 1978, he founded Books as Seeds, and in 1989, Opening Books (a 501c3 library and gift shop). He managed at Green Apple Books, San Francisco’s largest independent bookstore, and at Pearly Gates Natural Foods in Huntsville. With decades of experience in retail visual merchandizing, Clear began a career as a residential interior consultant in Hawaii in 1994. His feng shui practice began there in 1995, and blossomed when he moved to San Francisco in 1996. He emphasizes common sense in his approach to feng shui, avoiding consumerism and superstition. A recognized feng shui expert, he has appeared on television, radio, and in the print media. He has written five highly-acclaimed books on feng shui, the first published in 2000. His books are: Feng Shui Demystified, Bedroom Feng Shui, Feng Shui for Hawaii, Feng Shui for Hawaii Gardens, and most recently Feng Shui for Retail Stores.Clear’s books are available in four languages. For more information, visit fungshway.com.